Looking for a great East Bay GI doc

March 26, 2009 11:10 PM

You have Crohn's disease. You live in (or near) Oakland, CA. You're on Blue Cross. You have an awesome GI doctor. Who is he/she?

Kaiser has ignored us for long enough and now we're searching for a Blue Cross doctor who wont automatically prescribe Prednisone at any sign of trouble. Someone who will actually remember our name and pay attention to us and maybe even keep track of our case and act interested and try to figure out if theres a way we can take fewer pills and be symptom free. The closer to Oakland the better but any lead is a godsend.

Thank you.

posted by ElmerFishpaw to Health & Fitness (2 answers total)

Elmer,

I have Crohn's disease, but don't live anywhere near Oakland. However, I do run a support forum (ibdsucks.org) and some time ago one of our members posted this referral that may be helpful:

"Recommendation: I'm with Kaiser Permanente in the San Francisco Bay area, and I think my GI is the best.

"Name: Dr. Gayatri Bharadhwaj (pronounced Bard-waj)

"She's at the Fremont facility, between Oakland and San Jose. She's not only good, but she really listens and treats you like an equal partner in your medical care. She keeps up on the latest treatments. She returns messages within 24 hours and even likes to hug her patients. (Not a requirement for good doctoring, I know, but I think it's neat nonetheless.)"

This was posted in 2003, however, so this doc might not still be there, but perhaps it's still worth looking her up.

Good luck.
posted by qurlyjoe at 10:37 AM on March 27, 2009

Thank you
posted by ElmerFishpaw at 3:24 PM on March 27, 2009